LV council OKs $11.1 million payment plan for parking garage

The Fremont Street Experience is now on a payment plan to reimburse the city of Las Vegas for the cost of acquiring land for a parking garage.

The plan was approved by the City Council this morning.

The Experience will pay $58,000 a month starting in January to repay an $11.1 million debt it owes to the city's Redevelopment Agency, which obtained land at Las Vegas Boulevard and Fremont Street for the garage.

The total cost of the acquisition was $17.5 million. The Redevelopment Agency agreed to spend up to $6.4 million, with any remainder to be paid by Fremont Street Experience LLC and the Fremont Street Parking Corp.

That agreement was reached in 1993. In the interim, there was a nasty legal fight over the land, which was owned by the Pappas family. They sued over the use of eminent domain, taking the case all the way to the U.S. Supreme Court before settling for $4.5 million in 2004.

Contact reporter Alan Choate at achoate@reviewjournal.com or 702-229-6435.